


Did You Really Think I'd Fall To My Knees?

by Lilsciencequeen



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Angst, BAMF Jemma Simmons, Drama, F/M, Feels, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Jemma takes no nonsense, Pain, Post The Good Samaritan, Woman on fire, hell hath no fury, or prisoners
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-05
Updated: 2016-11-27
Packaged: 2018-08-29 06:25:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8478721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilsciencequeen/pseuds/Lilsciencequeen
Summary: Jemma didn’t know what scared her most;Not knowing where she was:Or not knowing anything about Fitz.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA
> 
> No. That was not funny AOS. I am like numb and I want to cry. Please don't do this to me. Not after all we've been through together. Don't hurt my children anymore.
> 
> Also any mistakes are because I have been up since half five this morning, and had no more than six hours sleep.

Jemma didn’t know what scared her most;

Not knowing where she was:

Or not knowing anything about Fitz.

After some thinking, she decided that it was definitely the second option that scared her more.

As soon as she had been taken on the QuinnJet, her phone had been taken of her so she had been unable to contact anyone, or know what was happening to them.

To him.

These thoughts kept flitting through her mind, passing the time in the dark.

And she didn’t know how long she had been sitting there, in the holding cell, because that’s what it was. A holding cell.

At least the guards who had escorted her there had the decency to remove the bag from over her head that the Director had insisted that she wear.

She was fidgeting nervously with her hands when the door creaked open, and in the doorway stood an armed guard. She frowned, wondering why they were armed.

She wasn’t dangerous.

She didn’t have powers like Daisy.

She couldn’t fight like May or Bobbi could (but she could hold her own well enough in a fight).

So why was this guard armed as though she were dangerous?

There was nothing here she could even _use_ as a makeshift weapon, and there was sure as hell nothing she could use here to science her way out of this situation.

Then matters got worse as he entered the room.

She saw them.

Handcuffs.

She frowned and was about to ask what all this was about when he spoke.

“Dr. Jemma Simmons,” his voice had no emotion, as though this was something that he did regular and she supposed that it was. “Under orders from Director Jeffrey Mace, you are under arrest.”

Jemma felt her stomach drop out from under her as though she was falling.

What had she done that deserved this?

She tried to think of what she had done and then, then it came to her.

She had blackmailed him.

Threatened him.

When she had first told Fitz what she had done (because of course she was going to tell Fitz what had happened, that she was now exempt from any further testing and that she had the upper hand with him) they had thought nothing of it at the time, though there had been some fear at what he could do in retaliation.

But they had never even thought of this as a possibility.

That he would all but kidnap and arrest her.

The guard pulled her arms behind her and placed the cuffs on far too tightly on her knocked her out of her thoughts.

“Move,” he commanded, forcing her forward. She stumbled, then regained her balance, and discovered upon leaving the cell that there were two more armed guards to escort her.

The Director was really abusing his power with this.

Could he even be scared of her because of the power and the knowledge that she possessed?

The armed guard that had entered the cell, that had restrained her, was forcing her down the corridor, his hand tight around her upper arm.

Jemma counted the footsteps between each turn in the hallway and the turns that she took (she had also done that earlier when she had the bag over her head. She was so thankful at times like this for her eidetic memory) when she was finally stopped, it was outside two oak doors that were opened, the Director was there outside, waiting for her. A number of other agents and members of government were sitting around a table.

“Dr. Simmons,” Mace said, staring at the young woman who met his gaze with one that was just as intense. If not more.

“Sir,” she said, and her face was laced with venom.

He sighed, shaking his head as though he was disappointed in her. “You know why you’re here?”

Jemma blinked once. “Of course.” She plastered a fake smile on her face, she still had power here, despite the position that she was in.

Mace smiled a condensing smile. “I didn’t want it to come to this Jemma, you know that right?”

Jemma didn’t reply, she just kept giving him that condescending smile.

Mace sighed, and looked down at her. “Jemma, you are getting a hearing.”

Still no reply, and it seemed as though she wasn’t going to reply, Mace just turned his attention to the guards. “Bring her in.”

They nodded, and pushed her in, and the doors closed behind them.

***

Jemma knew what the verdict on the hearing would be.

She knew she would be found guilty.

Jeffrey had power, the power to destroy and ruin her.

Because to him, she was dangerous to S.H.I.E.L.D., to him.

She had the power, the knowledge to be able to reveal the truth to him, something that he didn’t want under any circumstance to be revealed.

“It’s not permanent,” Mace explained. “It’s only until we find somewhere for you, somewhere you won’t cause harm.”

Jemma didn’t say anything, couldn’t say anything because she knew if she did, the emotions that she had kept bottled up would come spilling out. Because despite the exterior that she was trying to show, the words had hurt and the thought of not knowing what had happened to Fitz was twisting her insides into multiple knots. Because there was something unsettling every time she thought of him. As though something had gone wrong on the mission.

When he never got a reply, Mace nodded, and the guards helped Jemma, still cuffed, out of her seat was when she finally spoke. “Fitz.”

The Director looked at the, and pulled a phone out of his pocket, her phone.

“He’s been calling you Jemma. He’s been calling you.” He took a breath. Then to the rest of the room. “Leave us.”

There was no movement but then the Director repeated the words again, this time with more anger and chairs began scrapping.

Once they were alone, he spun, facing Jemma, his face on of fury. “Poor Fitz. Not knowing where you are, thinking that you hate him. Imagine that being his last thought.”

Jemma frowned, scared and wondering what he was on about.

“He’s dead Jemma.”

“No. No he’s not.”

Mace gave a sigh of frustration before reaching for a tablet and showing her a video.

Fitz was there, in a control room, lights flashing.

Then the next.

He wasn’t.

He wasn’t there.

He was just gone.

He couldn’t be. Not after all they had been through.

“He’s dead Jemma,” Mace said, his voice laced with fury and victory. “He’s gone. He’s not coming back.”

Jemma shook her head, tears starting to stream down her face. ”No. No. He can’t… he can’t be.”

Mace laughed, “You thought you were playing me, you and Fitz. You thought that you could best me? I saw through your little plan from day one. You wanted Phil back in charge, didn’t you? Or May? Or Hill? You wanted to protect your friends, to keep them safe. But you couldn’t. And you let him die. It’s your fault Jemma. You killed him.”

Her shoulders were shaking now, sobs of pure agony were leaving her. All colour had drained from her face, and already her eyes were puffy and red.

Mace just smiled, knowing that he had caught her out, knowing that the first part of his plan was complete.

“Jemma Simmons, you’re never going to see the light of day again.”

The guards had entered again, and were dragging her back because she was unable to walk. Not after knowing about what happened to Fitz. Because something had happened to him. Something was wrong.

But he wasn’t dead.

Because he _couldn’t_ be dead.

Because she would know. She would know if he was dead.

She _would_ know it.

But something was wrong.

Something was truly wrong if that footage was indeed right and not faked.

And Jemma was going to get to the bottom of it.

No matter what.

She was going to solve this.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I actually got more than five hours sleep last night, yay...

When she was half way down the corridor again, the guard that was forcing her down it, pushed her to the ground and took out the other two guards before removing his helmet and smiling at her.

“Long time no see,” he said, reaching down and un-doing her handcuffs.

“Thought the government would kill you if you ever saw me again,” she said, accepting his hand as he helped her up.

Hunter just shrugged as she rubbed over wrists. “Can’t let my favourite Brit get locked up, now can I?”

Jemma just shook her head, and wiped away at the tears that had trailed off. “And here’s me thinking that you were your favourite Brit.”

Hunter shook his head as if he couldn’t believe her. “Second favourite?”

Jemma just rolled her eyes, accepting the weapon that he passed her. It wasn’t a gun but…

“An ICER?” she asked as they took of down the corridor again.

“You don’t think I broke in here alone?.”

“I thought it was just Bobbi that was with you?”

“She is, we just had more help.”

“From who?”

***

“Fitz!” Coulson’s voice was stern, so much like the Director that he once was. “Calm down!”

Fitz swore under his breath. “Why? Why? We’re trapped here!”

He ran his hands through his air.

Coulson knew much of where this anger was coming from.

And it wasn’t at being trapped here.

It was not knowing where Jemma was.

No one knew where she was.

And if she knew about them, then she wouldn’t know if they were alive.

Heck, no one would know if they were alive. 

“We’ll get out of here.” The voice of reason was not Coulson but Robbie.

And Fitz saw red.

It took all of Coulson’s strength to hold the young engineer back (who possessed more strength than most people would think).

Robbie stood up and closed his eyes, trying to compose himself. “You think I want this also? You think I want to be trapped here? With Gabe alone?”

Fitz took a shaking breath and pulled his arm out of Coulson’s grasp. “We need to get out of here.”

Coulson nodded. “Yeah, we do. Any ideas?” Coulson looked out around where they were. It was a world white smoke, there seemed to be no way to get out, no way to do anything at all.

“Jemma. She’ll know what to do.”

“The woman who went missing?” Robbie asked, trying to work out what was happening.

“You think she can do it?” Coulson asked.

For the first time, Fitz smiled. “’Course she can.”

***

It turns out not only had Hunter brought friends, but they had also managed to ‘borrow’ a QuinnJet.

Jemma wasn’t as surprised as she should be.

This was Hunter after all.

“Jemma.”

A voice stopped them dead where they were standing.

The Director.

Hunter cursed, raising and pointing his gun. “Seriously?”

“Lance Hunter I presume?”

Hunter gave a nod of his head.

“I’ve heard plenty about you and must ask that you turn not only Dr. Simmons in but yourself.”

Hunter scoffed, as if this was the stupidest idea he had ever heard. “I have an idea. How about you move, let’s forget this ever happened and I’ll buy you a drink?”

Mace, as it turns out, did not take too kindly to this idea. Instead he raised a gun.

Hunter pushed Jemma behind him, raising an arm to protect her. “C’mon, two drinks?”

The gun cocked, then in a blink of an eye, it was gone.

Jemma smirked, catching on, then did Hunter.

This just infuriated the Director even more, who spun and saw Elena standing there, waving the weapon at him, smirking.

The Director had a dangerous anger coming of him but before he could do anything, Elena had vanished again, and once she was back in her place, he was on the floor.

Hunter gaped, unsure of what had just happened but Jemma just stepped over the body, and took the syringe that Elena offered her. “Piper?”

Elena nodded.

Jemma gave a wicked smile, she knew that formula would come in handy one day.

Hunter just followed.

***

Sitting on the QuinnJet, she was too engrossed in the data that she was looking at to hear the whispers of Bobbi and Hunter in the cockpit or Elena speaking on the phone to Mack.

“Jemma?” a voice asked, breaking her train of thought.

Joey.

She locked the tablet. “Thank you,” she said.

“What for?”

“For coming. You have a life, outside of this.”

He shrugged. “We’re a team. We’re friends. Isn’t this what friends do, help save other friends from alternative dimensions?”

Jemma couldn’t help but laugh at this and was about to speak when Joey spoke again. “I have something for you.”

From the pockets of his trousers, he removed a chain, and a pendant hung on it.

It was really quite extra ordinary. “It’s beautiful,” she said.

He nodded. “It has always been passed down the male line of my family, from my great grandfather. His father gave it to him when he was going to propose to my great-grandmother. And he passed it to his son, who passed it to my father who passed it to me. It’s always brought my family luck, but I think you need it more than I do now.”

He reached round, clipping it around her neck and allowing the pendant to fall against her chest. She reached for it, wrapping her hand around it. The metal was smooth worn with age.

She looked up and smiled at Joey. “Thank you.”

“We’re going to get them back.”

Jemma nodded. “We are.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be completely different but the idea of Hunter breaking Jemma out of jail was too much not to write and who doesn't love Elena stealing stuff and waving it in people's faces.   
> Also, I've seen woman on fire used a lot to describe a badass Jemma but have like no idea where it came from???  
> Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed this one.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Dr. Strange ties into this arc but I've not yet been able to see it so there will be no spoilers and sorry for any bad science in this, physics and all weren't really my thing!

There was no stopping Jemma once she had her mind set on something.

She was giving out demands, left, right and centre and no one was stopping her, letting her take command.

Once she had managed to get all the data from both the previous records and from actually visiting the lab, she headed back to Zephyr One, taking the lab to herself and burying herself in the data.

“You’re worried about her?” Bobbi asked, standing next to May, watching Jemma.

May turned, and looked at the blonde agent. “Of course. We know how Fitz was when Jemma was gone.”

Bobbi nodded, watching the young biochemist pour over the work. She sighed, taking a step forward and going to see what help when May spoke out again, causing her to stop.

“Mace.”

Bobbi spun, frowning. “The Director?”

May nodded. “He’ll be looking for us.”

And Bobbi knew just what May meant by that us.

“I can deal with that.” Daisy said, interrupting the conversation. She lifted a pen drive out of her pocket, showing it off.

May frowned and stared at the piece of metal.

“Coding,” Daisy explained. “I’ve… I’ve been working on it. Should shield us from the Director. It’s what… It’s what I’ve been using.”

May couldn’t help but smile, because this was the Daisy that she knew and had grown to love as a daughter. “Where does it need plugged in?”

***

Robbie sat with his head leaning against the wall, while Fitz sat there pacing about, muttering under his breath about something. Robbie could only guess that it was calculations about how to escape from here.

Coulson just stood in the corner, watching the scene unfold in front of him.

He could see just how hard Fitz was taking this. After everything him and Jemma had been through, they didn’t deserve this in the least.

They deserve happiness, a life together, and if it was away from S.H.I.E.L.D., then so be it.

“Fitz,” Coulson said. “How long… how long do you think we’ve been stuck here?”

Fitz spun, turning to face the older agent. “Time… time doesn’t exist here.”

Robbie frowned. “What do you mean ‘time doesn’t exist here’?”

Fitz bit his lip nervously. “We’re stuck in a realm that exists outside of our own dimension, right?”

Coulson and Mack just stared at him. Fitz sighed then tried again. “So there’s not just our universe right?” A nod from both men prompted him to continue. “And we’ve been transported to one just outside of our own existence.”

“How… how did you work that out?” Robbie asked.

Fitz shrugged, as if it were easy. “Have you felt hungry since we’ve been here? Thirsty? Tired?”

At each question, the other two men shook their heads and then they knew what Fitz meant. Time _wasn’t_ passing for them at all. They were stuck here, in this limbo.

“Fitz,” Coulson began, fear evident in his voice. “What are you trying to say?”

“Time isn’t passing here, but in our world it is.”

“So, what you’re saying is that we could be stuck here for years, and only return to the future after… we could be stuck here for decades and not know?” Robbie asked.

Fitz nodded.

***

Mack took her back to the control room, back to where he was last seen.

Because Jemma was sure there was something there that she missed.

(Mack, however wasn’t so sure. Jemma had searched the building close to a dozen times and there was still no explanation as to where they could be).

And he was starting to worry about her, everyone had been in the days since Fitz had disappeared and Bobbi and Hunter had broken her out of that hell hole the Director thought he could keep her coped up in.

He watched as she trailed her fingers along the panel.

“Are you… Jemma.” She turned, facing him. “Are you okay? You’re not angry or anything?” Jemma shook her head, she knew why he was asking. Because he hadn’t been able to get the EMP there in time. And he blamed himself.

She shook her head again, and then stopped and sighed, her shoulders rising and falling. “Honestly? I am. I’m angry at the Director. I’m angry at the universe, I’m angry at the cosmos. Everything. But not at you, never at you.” Her voice broke, and tears streamed down her face, and Mack wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in close and allowing her to let all the emotions of the last few days out.

***

They needed a way to hide, to keep them safe from the wrath of the Director that they knew was inevitable.

Jemma’s formula that had knocked him out and Daisy’s coding they had managed to hide themselves for a number of days but they had to leave.

Now.

Everyone was gathered in a room, and was watching both May and Jemma, the two agents who had taken charge of the rescue mission.

“So what now?” Elena asked, putting her hands in her pockets and looking back and forth between May and Jemma.

Jemma looked at May, who gave a reassuring nod. She took a breath, composing herself then she spoke. “We’re leaving. The Zephyr has enough fuel to last over a month in the air, so that’s where we’re going. We… we can’t go back to base. Not for a while anyway.” A guilty look flashed in her eyes.

“So we’re working from here?” Daisy asked, stepping in because she could tell that Jemma was uncomfortable speaking aloud like this.

A nod from May caused a wicked grin to spread across her face. “What we waiting for then? Let’s rescue our boys!”

***

“Robbie.”

The one word knocked him out of his thoughts. “You only attacked the Director, not us.”

“I did.”

“Why?”

Robbie sighed, slightly frustrated. “You know why.”

“You only attack those who deserve it, does he?”

“You’re worried for her.”

“Is he… Is he dangerous?”

“Yes. He is.”

Fitz swallowed hard and tried to fight tears away. “Could he… how dangerous is he?”

Robbie remained silent, dipping his head, scared and not wanting to answer this question.

“Tell me.”

“No.”

“If Jemma… if she’s in danger… I can’t lose her not again. Not after all we’ve been through.”

“You’ve lost her before?”

Fitz nodded, closing his eyes. “Yes. She…” He took a breath, as though composing himself. “She was trapped. On another planet. For six months.”

Robbie looked up and saw tears forming in the engineer’s eyes. “I’m sorry.”

Fitz nodded. “I can’t… I can’t lose her. Not again.”

Robbie finally met his eyes fully. “If she’s still with him, if she hasn’t yet escaped but from what you said, she probably has, then yes. Yes, she’s in danger.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed this one! Thanks for checking out!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a lil warning for mentions of vomit in this one.

Two weeks had passed and Jemma felt as though she were getting nowhere.

“Jemma,” Daisy’s voice came, gentle and reassuring. “C’mon. You need to sleep.”

Jemma looked up at Daisy from where she was sitting on the floor, and she looked awful, her cheeks sunken and black bags hung under her eyes. She shook her head. “I can’t.”

Daisy just stared down at her. Jemma was neglecting all forms of self-care, including eating (which worried her the most because when she did eat, nothing stayed down. She just threw it back up again. She was making herself sick with all the work).

“No. You’re not working.” The Inhuman crossed her arms across her chest. “Not until you’ve had at least eight hours sleep, whether we sedate you or not.”

Jemma glared up at her and met her eyes, trying to win this argument but eventually she sighed, knowing that she had no chance against Daisy, who gave a victorious smile and held out a hand to help her up. “Let’s go get you cleaned up.”

***

“He could hurt her?” Fitz asked, his voice close to breaking.

Robbie nodded. “He’s dangerous Fitz. But if Jemma is as smart as you say she is, and if you’re team are anything like what I’ve seen of them so far, then she’ll be safe, out of the way of danger.”

Fitz nodded, and mumbled a thanks.

Then. “I’m sorry.”

Robbie frowned. “For what?”

“Gabe. I can… I can see how much he means to you.”

Robbie shook his head. “He deserves better than me.”

“No. He doesn’t. He may… he may be mad now, but he’ll get over it. I know the feeling. I know what it’s like to not be good enough.”

“I nearly killed him.”

Fitz shrugged. “He’s alive.”

Robbie sighed, shaking his head. “He’s disappointed in me. Angry.”

“It will pass. Trust me. He looks up to you.”

Robbie looked at Fitz and looked as though he were about to speak, but then he said nothing.

***

After helping Jemma get washed, they had finally managed to get her into bed, and May was wrapping a blanket around her before leaving her room, closing the door softly behind her.

Bobbi and Daisy were standing in the corridor, arms crossed over their chests but they never said anything, just followed May down the corridor of Zephyr One to the kitchen.

It was when May took a bottle of juice out of the fridge that Daisy finally spoke. “So she’s sleeping

May nodded, unscrewing the lid. “She is.”

Bobbi nodded her approval, before pulling a chair out from the table and sitting down, taking Jemma’s work and flicking through it, seeing if there was anything that she would be able to help with.

After a period of silence a voice spoke. Hunter. Bobbi looked up at him, May and Daisy were also staring at her. Hunter repeated the question. “Can it be done? Can they be saved?”

Bobbi set the folder to the side. “Honestly? It doesn’t look possible…”

The mood in the room quickly turned somber.  “But,” Bobbi continued. “If anyone can do it, if anyone can save them, it’s her.”

***

The next morning, Hunter found her huddled in the bathroom, wrapped in a blanket and throwing up.

“You okay?” he asked, coming to kneel down beside her. She looked up, her face pale and she nodded.

“Yes. Think… think I just ate something that was off or something.”

She leaned back, and grabbed the damp wash cloth of the sink and cleaned her face before allowing Hunter to help her feet.

“Breakfast,” he said, leading her out of the bathroom and she knew by his tone of voice that it was not a question, that breakfast wasn’t optional.

She allowed him to lead her to the kitchen, to make her two slices of toast and to place them down in front of her with a knife and the dish of butter.

He sat opposite her, watching her as she buttered the first slice.

“Did May put you up to this? Daisy? Bobbi?” She asked.

Hunter stared at her as though she were a puzzle that needed to be worked out. When she was taking the first bite of her breakfast, he finally spoke, shaking his head. “No. No one spoke to me. I’m doing this ‘cause I’m worried about you. We all are.”

A twinge of guilt formed in her stomach and Jemma nodded, swallowing hard.

The rest of the morning was spent in silence.

***

Bobbi watched Jemma work from a distance, knowing that she should tell the young biochemist that maybe they wouldn’t be able to save the men, that maybe, maybe they were gone for good this time.

That there was no way to rescue them.

She knew she had to tell Jemma this, and knowing that this would crush her, she was scared to.

How could she tell one of her closest friends, the woman that she saw as a younger sister that the man that she loved, her best friend was dead? That he wasn’t coming back?

Bobbi swallowed hard and pushed herself up from her seat, deciding that maybe this conversation was one that was best to get over with quickly.

When a sudden noise, a cry came from Jemma caused the entire lab to freeze, then after what felt like years but was really only seconds, everyone rushed to her side.

“Is everything okay?” Daisy asked, rushing to the side of her best friend, her sister.

“Pen,” was all Jemma could say, attention focused on the sheets of paper in front of her. “I need a pen.”

There was something frantic about her tone, as though if she didn’t write this down within the next number of minutes then she would forget it.

Thankfully, quicker than a blink of an eye, there was a pen in her hand. She gave a brief smile to Elena, then frantically scribbled down whatever it was that was on her mind.

“Jemma,” May said, her voice gently, soft, almost motherly. “Is everything okay?”

Jemma looked up, tears glistening in her eyes. “I can do this. I can save them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am always saying that I want to wrap Jemma up in blankets so I did it. Finally in a fic! Hope you enjoyed this part! There will be four more chapters. Thanks for checking out. Hope you enjoyed!


	5. Chapter 5

Everyone stared at her, the words taking a moment to sink in.

Taking in the fact they could be saved, that she could be saved.

Then Daisy spoke, breaking the silence that had formed in the lab. “You can?”

Jemma nodded.

“How? Where are they?” 

“Another dimension.”

Everyone stared at her in shock, blinking at her. Jemma couldn’t help but wonder why. It wasn’t as though they weren’t aware that other dimensions and universes existed. They were more than aware. Maybe it was just the shock.

“What?” Hunter began. “Like in _Stranger Things_?”

Jemma shook her head. “No. It’s not like that. It’s not an alternative or parallel of our world. But a different dimension altogether. One that exists outside of our plane of existence.”

Everyone stared at her, as though she were speaking some form of rocket science (she wasn’t _really._ That was Fitz’s area of expertise. And anyway, this wasn't even rocket science, it was something close to physics).

“What are you saying?” Bobbi asked.

“They exist in a universe different from the laws are different from ours.”

“Including time,” Bobbi continued, catching onto what Jemma was saying, and the severity of the situation.

Jemma nodded slowly and swallowed hard. “Including time,”

“Then what we waiting for?” Hunter said, smiling at Jemma. “Let’s get them back.”

***

Time was not passing, and they didn’t know how much time hadn’t passed in this world, or how much time has passed in their own world (their watches and phones had stopped working as soon as they had gotten there).

It was up to their team now.

“You’re worried,” Robbie said, speaking to Coulson. The older man turned.

And nodded. “I am.”

“Why?” Robbie asked.

In their (non-existent) time together, Robbie had gotten to know the two agents better, and Fitz seemed to be extremely anxious and on edge.

Coulson didn’t speak but Robbie did, knowing that that was the only way that the conversation would continue. “He said she, Jemma, had been trapped on another planet for six months. Is it…”

Coulson nodded again this time, but his expression had changed.  “She was. And not once did he give up. Even when I told him to. Even when I told him that she was gone, that he should give up as we had no idea where she was, no idea if she was even alive, he still didn’t give up.”

“And you think she’ll be able to do the same?”

Coulson nodded. “She can. If anyone can do it, then Jemma can.”

***

“No.”

When Mack heard what Jemma wanted to do to bring them home, he had disagreed. It was too dangerous, and he wasn’t willing to risk anyone else. He wasn’t prepared to lose anyone else. “It’s too dangerous.”

“I have to,” Jemma said. “There’s no other way.”

She wasn’t begging, she wasn’t asking. She was saying what she was doing and she wasn’t taking no for an answer.

Mack stared at her, as did May and Daisy. “You let Fitz do it. For Maveth. You let him go through the portal the first time.”

The three agents looked at each other. “We had no choice then Jemma,” Daisy said, her voice soft and gentle as if not to upset the Brit. “He jumped through it himself.”

“I know,” she said. “But you never stopped him.”

“We couldn’t,” May replied, her voice stern and motherly. “Jemma, it’s too dangerous.”

“You said we could do this. You said I could do this.”

May took a step towards Jemma but Jemma took a step backwards. “That was before we knew what you had to do to get them back… We’re only doing this because we don’t want you to get hurt.”

“It’s the only way.”

“We don’t want to lose you. Not again.” This time Daisy spoke, but Jemma shook her head. “I need to do this. Please.”

Her tone broke at the end, and the tears that had been building up escaped. “I need to get him back, May. I need to get him back. Please.”

Seeing her break down, there and then. May knew she had to make a decision. She knew she had one of two choices; to not let Jemma go ahead with the experiment, to declare Coulson and Fitz, alone with Robbie MIA, or she could let Jemma go ahead, to repeat Eli’s experiment, to try and rescue them.

May also knew that whatever choice she made, Jemma would try anyway to rescue them.

That she would risk everything to try and save them.

Save _him._

May sighed. “Let’s do it.”

***

Less than an hour later, Jemma was ready to go. She was just checking her pack for the final time when Daisy came up to her and wrapped her arms around her friend.

“Stay safe,” she whispered into the biochemist’s ear.

Jemma nodded onto her shoulder but remained silent. Both woman knew that there was a chance that the experiment wouldn’t be successful, that Jemma could become trapped where Fitz, Robbie and Coulson were, or even worse, somewhere where they weren’t.

Daisy pulled away, and gave a sad smile.

Then she turned away and Jemma was alone in the lab.

Two minutes later, she heard May’s voice over the comms.

“The building is empty.”

Jemma nodded. “Okay.”

“Stay safe.”

“I will.”

And with that, she hit the button, starting the experiment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I shall post the next chapter tomorrow! Hope you enjoyed this one and thanks for the support!


	6. Chapter 6

It felt awful, that burst of energy that transported her.

Wherever it did deposit her.

It was a room of white.

That’s all she knew.

Then he felt her stomach turn, and she threw up.

“Jems?” a voice asked, a voice that she had been wanting to hear for so long now. “Jemma?”

She looked up from where she was crouched on the ground, wiping her mouth on her sleeve. “Fitz?”

And he was running to her, then kneeling down next to her, pulling her close to him and wrapping her in his embrace.

She allowed herself to be wrapped up in his arms and buried her face in his shoulder, the tears flowing freely. She took in his scent, something that she hadn’t smelt for over two weeks now.

“It’s okay,” he whispered into her ear, stroking her hair. “It’s okay, you found us.”

She nodded into the fabric of his shoulder and lifted her face away from him, to take him in.

She gave a watery smile as she looked at him, at those blue blue eyes, that smile of his that could light up so many planets. “Hi,” she whispered, suddenly lost for words, unsure of what to say because there was so much that she wanted to say, so much that she had to say, so much she needed to say.

“Hi,” he replied back.

She smiled at him, as he brushed a strand of her hair back behind her ear. “I did it,” she said, as though she weren’t able to believe that she had actually done this, that she had actually succeeded.

“I know,” he replied, and she laughed, shaking her head. “I never gave up on you, you know?” he asked and this time she nodded. “I _knew_ you could do it,” he said, strong.

“You’ve done the same for me,” she replied.

He nodded, stroking her cheek with this thumb, simply enjoying her presence before he leaned in and kissed her. Long tender and so full of love.

They kissed as though they had all the time in the world, as though there were nothing that would be able to separate them.

Once they pulled apart, staring longingly into each other’s eyes, foreheads touching and breath mingling, Robbie spoke, asking the pressing question. “How are we getting home?

Jemma looked up at him. “I set the experiment to run again twelve minutes after I got here.”

 Coulson frowned, making his way towards the couple. “Jemma, time doesn’t work here. We don’t know how long we’ve even been here.”

Jemma smiled this time, and Fitz couldn’t help the surge of pride that rose inside of him. “I considered that. The experiment is running from our world, a repeat of what Eli and I did, but the reverse, something to bring us back to our universe.”

“Will it work?” Coulson asked and Jemma bit her lip, slightly nervous.

Fitz picked up on this and reached for his girlfriend’s hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “It should,” she finally settled on because there was a 10% chance that the experiment wouldn’t work.

“And if it doesn’t?” Robbie asked.

Jemma looked at him, meeting his eyes. “Then we’re trapped here.”

***

Waiting was awful.

There was no way of checking how long was left until they could possibly return home.

Robbie paced the white hell that he had grown accustomed to, looking at the two scientists, curled up on the ground together, Jemma resting her head against Fitz’s chest as he whispered into her ear, gentle reassurances and promises.

Since she had come here, she had thrown up twice, and Robbie couldn’t disagree with that. It was awful being transported here.

“You’re nervous,” came Coulson’s voice behind him. “You’re worried we can’t get home.”

Robbie nodded. “I don’t want to spend another minute here more than I have to. You think she’s done it?”

This time Coulson nodded. “She survived six months in an environment that was nothing like ours. She got here. She can get us home.”

Robbie wrung his hands. Coulson and Fitz had so much faith in her, and he knew that he should trust them, that they were right. That Jemma had gotten here, but he knew there was a chance they couldn’t get home.

He was about to speak again when there was a pulse of energy.

***

“Jemma?” came a voice. “Jemma? Fitz? Oh my god!”

It took Fitz a moment to realise that it was Daisy speaking, Daisy calling out to them.

She was making her way to the control room, running towards them.

The pulse of energy must have knocked them out as Jemma was asleep across him, but Daisy’s voice must have woke her as her eyes fluttered and she looked up at him, confused.

“What?” she asked, her voice heavy and slightly slurred.

“You did it,” a voice said from the doorway. Not Daisy but May this time. “You did it.” She was smiling at them.

“I did, didn’t I?” Jemma asked and Fitz nodded, smiling down at his girlfriend.

“You did.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only two more chapters after this, both of which are coming next week! Hope you enjoyed this one and thanks for checking out and for all the support, it really makes me smile!


	7. Chapter 7

“Jemma,” a voice said. May.

Jemma turned her head to look at her, her whole body feeling weak, the past number of days finally taking their toll on her, the lack of food and sleep catching up on her. She blinked once, twice, her eyes unfocused. She couldn’t concentrate on anything.

“Jems?” Fitz said, cupping her cheek in his head and tilting it towards him. “You okay?”

“I did it,” she whispered, and Fitz leaned down, kissing her forehead.

Fitz nodded, and shooting one look at May he could just tell that she hadn’t been taking care of herself at all, neglecting all self-care to try and rescue him and…

“Coulson,” Daisy said, pointing out something that the others hadn’t yet noticed. “Robbie. Where are they?”

May turned her attention back to the scientists as though they had the answer. Fitz thought for a moment. “He could be anywhere,” Fitz finally decided on. “Me and Jems, we were together when the… when we came back here.”

Daisy understood what he was saying. “So they could be anywhere in the building?”

A nod from Fitz and she continued again. “I’ll get Mack to check the security feed, see if I can find them.”

And she was gone just like that.

“Medical,” May said, and she followed Daisy out of the room, leaving Jemma behind with Fitz.

“Hey,” he whispered into her ear, adjusting himself. “We’re going to go to medical, okay?”

She nodded, and allowed her head to fall back on his chest again. Asleep. Her chest rose and fell gently; she was beautiful, simply perfect and Fitz couldn’t help but wonder what he had ever done to deserve her.

He stood up, supporting her in his arms, and following the two other agents away from this place, and back to safety.

***

She was lying in the bed, having nearly caught up on some sleep, and Bobbi was adjusting a drip in her arm, providing her with the nutrients that she had been deprived of over the past two weeks.

“Hey,” a voice said, interrupting the comfortable silence that had settled in the medical bay. Hunter. She looked up at him, and smiled.

“Hi,” she whispered back. “Thank you,” she told him as he took the seat beside her bed.

“For what?” he asked.

“For rescuing me.”

He shook his head as though it were nothing. “What was I supposed to do?”

She just stared at him, unsure of what to say. Because he had saved her from the Director (who was now in custody of the American government). “Where’s Fitz?” she settled on, because as soon as he was discharged from medical, completely and utterly healthy while Jemma was still there, he had to go somewhere. It was over two hours ago and he still hadn't come back.

“He’s finishing debrief with Coulson and May.”

They had found Coulson in a different room but…

“Still no Robbie?”

Lance shook his head, and Jemma felt her stomach twist. Robbie hadn’t appeared back, and they had searched every room, trying to find him.

“It’s okay,” Lance reassured. “You did everything. And maybe we just missed him, maybe he escaped.”

Jemma nodded, worried about Gabe and how they were going to tell him that his brother was missing and they have no way of rescuing him.

“Jemma,” Lance said, his voice stern but gentle. “It’s okay, you did all that you could and no-one’s going to be mad.”

She swallowed and nodded, slowly and reluctantly.

Footsteps in the hallway caused Lance to look over his shoulder but the smile on Jemma’s face should have given it away immediately that it was Fitz standing in the doorway. “I’ll leave you two to it then,” he said, pushing back from the chair and rising.

He stood and nodded to Fitz as he left the room.

Fitz made his way to the bed, sitting on it and Jemma sat up, smiling up at him. “I missed you,” she told him as he took her hand in his own, rubbing his thumb across the back of it.

“I missed you too,” he replied, bringing her hand up and kissing her knuckles.

She smiled, her cheeks blushing red as his lips danced across her skin. “I can’t lose you,” he told her. He knew what had happened to her, what the Director had done to her, what he had planned to do.

She nodded this time, and a tear slipped down her cheek, quickly wiped away by him. “I can’t lose you either,” she replied. She reached up with her other hand (the one not in his hand), and stroked his face, taking in all the features that she had already committed to memory. “Not again. Fitz, I can’t lose you. I love you… and I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For everything. About AIDA. I was angry, jealous that I wasn’t working with you, because she’s an amazing piece of technology and I would have loved to help with making her. And I was angry, annoyed that you kept her from me even though you did it to keep me safe. And when they wanted me to give up, when they believed you to be dead…. I couldn’t admit that. That you were dead, gone and I didn’t want your last memories of me to be that of anger. I couldn’t live with that.”

“You don’t have to,” he replied, wiping away more of the tears that were streaming down his face. “I’m not annoyed. I could never be annoyed or angry with you Jems. When you weren’t answering your phone, that terrified me. I was so worried about you, I thought that something had happened, that something had went wrong, and that… I couldn’t bear to lose you again. I love you.”

She nodded, turning her head to rest on his hand. “I love you too,” she replied.

Then an idea came into Fitz’s mind, something that had been forming and taking shape in his mind ever since they got back, something that he had always considered, something that he had always wanted and something that Jemma had also wanted. But… he shook the thought from his mind.

“What?” she asked, knowing that something was up with him, knowing that he was working through something in that brilliant mind of his.

He shook his head, like he were trying to work out the formula or equation to some complex problem.  

“What?” she asked again. “Fitz, you can tell me, you know that?”

“Perthshire,” he said, just coming out with it in the end. “Do you… would you still want that?”

She nodded slowly. “Of course,” she replied. “When did I ever say that I didn’t?”

Fitz shrugged. “So if we find somewhere, a cottage, a place to raise a family, do you want to move there?”

She nodded. “Fitz, I would… There’s nothing that I would love more than that.”

He swallowed, nodding hard at what he had just been told. “Together… as husband and wife?”

“Fitz?” Jemma asked, her tone confused as she was piecing together what he was saying. “Are you proposing to me?”

He nodded, rubbing at the back of his neck nervously and before he could speak, Jemma spoke again.

“Of course Fitz, there’s no one else I would rather spend the rest of my life with.”

“So that’s a yes?”

Jemma laughed and rolled her eyes. “Oh Fitz,” she whispered. “Yes. Yes I will marry you.”

He reached into the back pocket of his jeans and produced a box, inside a simple ring, two bands of silver woven into a double helix. He slid it onto her finger, and she reached over to him, wiping away a tear that had escaped from his blue blue eyes.

He smiled at her, and she leaned in, wrapped her arms around his neck and allowing her lips to dance across his; long and tender.

And so full of hope.

Promise.

Love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one chapter left guys, I want to say a massive thank you for all the support, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are, on the final chapter. And I am heart broken that we're here. I loved writing this and hearing all your responses, so I hope that you enjoy this final part!

**_3 Months Later_ **

Daisy watched them in the lab, Fitz and Jemma helping Gabe work in the lab, Fitz doing something with the young man, helping him with some science fair project. They were still with S.H.I.E.L.D.; waiting on the cottage they had found in Perthshire to be restored.

Jemma fiddled with something around her neck; the necklace that Joey had given her three and a half months ago now. She had offered to give it back, when they had returned but Joey had shaken his head, saying it had never brought him luck, and so she was still wearing it.

Daisy couldn’t help but smile, watching her favourite two nerds happier than they had ever been.

She was momentarily distracted when her phone buzzed. A message from Elena, asking for advice about her date with Mack, asking what she would be best wearing. Daisy simply replied that Mack wouldn’t care what she wore, just as long as she was happy and comfortable.

“How’s Gabe?” a voice asked her from behind.

She spun, and almost dropped her phone.

Robbie Reyes was standing there, a cocky grin on his face.

“I thought you gone,” she replied. “We told Gabe you were gone.”

Robbie grimaced at this. “I know I shouldn’t have done this,” he settled on. “But I had to.”

“Where even where you?”

Robbie shrugged. “I had things to sort out.”

He didn’t elaborate even more, and Daisy knew that he wouldn’t even if she pressed for answers.

“How are they?” Robbie asked, gesturing to the two young scientists. Jemma had her back to them and Fitz was bent over something, engrossed in a project with Gabe.

Daisy smirked, a knowing grin on her face but all she settled on was, “Happy.”

Jemma must have heard them as she whispered something into her fiancé’s ear and he answered with a kiss, his lips dancing across hers.

“Whoa,” was all that Robbie could say as Jemma walked to them.

She was very pregnant, so waddled towards them was a better way of describing how she made her way to them.

“Robbie,” she said, staring at him. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

“I wanted to see Gabe, to explain everything. To apologise.”

Jemma nodded. “He’s amazing. His love of science… I’ve not seen anything like it since I met Fitz. What are his hopes for the future?”

Robbie frowned, wondering what she was on about then he spoke. “Bio-Engineering, at Harvard but it’s the money…”

“I have contacts there,” Jemma said, leaning against the door. “If he wants to go there, I know some professors there, some of them owe me a couple of favours. If he wants I can get him a place.”

Robbie stared at her. “You don’t have to…”

“But I want to. He… he can change the world. Talk to him at least, talk to him about the offer.”

Robbie nodded. “Thank you.” Because he knew that Gabe would want this, had always wanted this but had never thought he could get it.

“Robbie!” a voice called, and behind Jemma, Gabe was wheeling his way across the lab, Fitz following behind. “Where… where have you been?”

“I’ll explain later, okay?”

Gabe nodded reluctantly.

“How have you been?”

Gabe shook his head, as if in disbelief. “They have so much here, so many resources. And these two… they’re amazing.”

He looked at the two scientists, smiling. Jemma blushed, and Fitz wrapped his hand around her waist.

Robbie shook his head, and ruffled his younger brother’s hair. “They are.” He turned back to the scientists. “I suppose congratulations are in order,” he said, gesturing to Jemma. “How far?”

“Just over six months.”

Robbie stared, his face a picture of shock. “You were pregnant when you saved us?”

Jemma nodded. “I didn’t find out until after he proposed to me.” She laughed, shaking her head and resting it on Fitz’s shoulder, who kissed her forehead.

Robbie was just in shock, these two were really something that were quite unique, and deserved each other from what he had seen. “C’mon,” he finally settled on, reaching and taking the handles of Gabe’s wheelchair. “We have a lot to talk about.”

Once they were gone, Daisy stared at the couple, Jemma resting her head on his shoulder still, her eyes closed and Fitz’s lips pressed to the top of her head.

“You do know I’m bridesmaid _and_ godmother, right?” Daisy joked, and Jemma just laughed again, enjoying the fact that everything was going right in their lives, that they would be getting their happy ending.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some reason, I just make Jemma pregnant in all the series four stuff I write now. I am like super desperate for this to happen. Thanks so much for all the love that you left on this, it really made me smile and I hope that you enjoyed this!

**Author's Note:**

> Like I know there's a lot of comparison being made to this plot and Stranger Things but like I know I did a [Stranger Things AU](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7451404/chapters/18322591), I just didn't think that it would be come semi-canon-ish. Basically I did not think we would be getting a Stranger Things theme. But like I'm excited. I was wanting more the Perthshire Cottage AU to happen. 
> 
> So this just came to be and will probably have a number of chapters because I am not over that ending.  
> Title from Power by Bastille Hope you enjoyed.


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